Dice [OOC] - To Stand Against the Crimson Tide

[Sherwood]

Works for me, thanks for asking!

 

[Sherwood]

Red Shadow Claws I have been pondering my background and while I have a few ideas forming, I don't want to step on your toes with your character since I am running your daughter. Can we cooperate on our backgrounds and come up with some good stuff together?

 

[Sherwood]

And Random Word can I get some info on this manse I have, or do I design it? Was this Sidereal that I got my artifacts from buried there, or did I come across his/her body as I explored the place? I just don't want to have to redo my background a dozen times to edit it just did to fit in your game.

 

[Random Word]

Should I spend merit points to take the Ichuemon Hunter as a Familiar? or will spending the 1xp for the use of the Charm be enough? Am I correct in thinking it is a 1 dot Familiar?

Tricky. A dog-sized predatory wasp seems to be toeing the line between 1 and 2 dots, but sure, we'll roll with 1 dot.

And Random Word can I get some info on this manse I have, or do I design it? Was this Sidereal that I got my artifacts from buried there, or did I come across his/her body as I explored the place? I just don't want to have to redo my background a dozen times to edit it just did to fit in your game.

I admit, I don't know too much about it myself yet, but your character built it so you have broad license to design it as you please. I'm thinking the main control room is a sphere, and tens of thousands of tiny golden crabs carry hexagonal coloured ceramic tiles from bins to place them into a mosaic projection of the view from near the top of the Manse. Fast moving objects aren't always properly detailed as the crabs scramble over each other to rearrange the tiles properly. The top of the Manse is golden lotus petals folded up. They unfurl to reveal the petals are made of hexagonal orichalcum mirrors, and unfurl again laterally to complete the hemispherical mirror array that focuses the light of the sun onto a crystal that levitates up as the lotus is blooming. The crystal refracts, redirects, and amplifies the captured sunlight into a terrifying heat ray, directed from the control room. The Manse can pull sunlight towards itself, burning through most cloud cover, though a particularly potent storm or magically imposed darkness might be a problem. When the Manse is firing at full power, it casts a shadow over the surrounding area, as if drinking in the light before it can reach the ground.

The lower levels of the Manse descend further into underground ruins, and several tombs are near the entrance, as well as a soulsteel obelisk inscribed with extensive poetry in Old Realm.

The Manse could be directly underneath the Palace of Merciful Tears. The death ray would cut right through the waterfalls.

Hmm, if I'm needing a previous life, I'm thinking Wave Taming Ryumi, the Eclipse Admiral sent in response to the disappearance of the first taskforce to fulfill the commands of the Deliberative. Another reason my pirate captain is so drawn here is the odd feelings of the past in coming here again. Ryumi definitely was a hardened fighter and fleet commander for the Deliberative, put in charge of the Circle dispatched to bring In Morrolan the Black for their actions. Let me know if that tie in works for you Sherwood

Ryumi was also concerned with keeping the Raksha in check and that is something that has bled over to the new Eclipse whose got strong feelings about their raiding and invasions due to losing his sister to a Raksha Lord who took away all that made her a person over a bargain made. So he'd have interest in fighting their forces.

Great! Same request as others, though - don't make your First Age incarnation a saint. They did great and terrible things. It's interesting that the way things are shaping up, the island fell twice. Once to the Deliberative, and again in the Usurpation. Who controlled it between the death of Morrolan and the Usurpation is an interesting question. Perhaps Ryumi took command, or someone else entirely.

Mor'du's biggest failure in life was his absolute refusal to do anything to try and stop his Solar Bond from committing atrocities on helpless people that had the misfortune to cross Rogosh's path. Add to that his cowardice at the one time that Rogosh needed him the most filled him with shame, leading him to his vindication of his past inaction in his final stand on the hilltop trying to stem the unending tide of Rakshasa from overwhelming Creation entirely. If you are looking for more than that, I'll have to do some thinking to try and get into Mor'du's head and see what made him tick.

Inaction is an interesting sin. It's very passive, and while it can be a crime worthy of execution, it's a hard case to make that someone should die because they didn't prevent someone else from doing terrible things. In refusing to defend a monster like Rogosh, Mor'du was if anything being virtuous in the eyes of the Sidereals , though the cowardice brings him personal shame. An outside observer would likely not judge him harshly - they might rightfully ask whether Rogosh deserved to be saved.

If the Great Curse merely made the Exalted host more passive about the bad things that happened in the world, the Usurpation would never have been considered.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Red Shadow Claws I have been pondering my background and while I have a few ideas forming, I don't want to step on your toes with your character since I am running your daughter. Can we cooperate on our backgrounds and come up with some good stuff together?

Why, of course we can!

 

[Sherwood]

Why, of course we can!

So, tell me a bit about this ancestor cult you are a head of. Was Sjet tapped to be the next priestess for it? What kind of standard of living did the family have? Any other children? When did you Exalt as an Abyssal? Was it prior to the attack, or was it during this event that you took your Second Breath?

I am thinking that I came across this manse at an early age and found a rather extensive library of old texts that helped build up my knowledge of the First Age prior to my Exaltation. Then, when this attack took place, I was able to activate the manse's weapon systems to help turn the tide as I Exalted as a Twilight Solar.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

So, tell me a bit about this ancestor cult you are a head of. Was Sjet tapped to be the next priestess for it? What kind of standard of living did the family have? Any other children? When did you Exalt as an Abyssal? Was it prior to the attack, or was it during this event that you took your Second Breath?

I am thinking that I came across this manse at an early age and found a rather extensive library of old texts that helped build up my knowledge of the First Age prior to my Exaltation. Then, when this attack took place, I was able to activate the manse's weapon systems to help turn the tide as I Exalted as a Twilight Solar.

Droplets was a junior priestess of the Ancestor Cult when she was younger, but was cast out after she fell in love with a guy, and became pregnant. Priestesses were supposed to remain virgins, to better channel the ghosts of the ancestors.
After she was cast out, she couldn't find a living in the city, and so she moved to the wilderness of the island to survive, and raise her daughter, and only when Sjet grew up, did she move back to the city, to give Sjet a better education. She worked as a guide, gatherer, and hunter in the wilderness and used what money she earned to see Sjet get the education that she deserved.
She accompanied Sjet to the Manse, when Sjet took to figure out how to activate it, and she stayed at the entrance to fight off anyone who tried to interrupt. She bled out from wounds sustained as she fought them off, and was offered the Dark Exaltation, which she took to help her daughter.

As for other kids, I don't think she would have any. Bearing Sjet was what caused her to be cast out from her role, and while she never regretted having her, some part of her always yearned to be a priestess once more. And now, as a Midnight, she can be once more. She would probably usurp the Ancestor Cult and become their leader, to be a voice for the dead.

 

[Psychie]

Inaction is an interesting sin. It's very passive, and while it can be a crime worthy of execution, it's a hard case to make that someone should die because they didn't prevent someone else from doing terrible things. In refusing to defend a monster like Rogosh, Mor'du was if anything being virtuous in the eyes of the Sidereals , though the cowardice brings him personal shame. An outside observer would likely not judge him harshly - they might rightfully ask whether Rogosh deserved to be saved.

If the Great Curse merely made the Exalted host more passive about the bad things that happened in the world, the Usurpation would never have been considered.

So let's add that Mor'du had his own anger issues where he would slaughter someone at the slightest provocation, reacting to what he perceived as a lack of respect or a hint of a sight to him or to Rogosh. He sees fault in others but never in himself.

 

[Sherwood]

Droplets was a junior priestess of the Ancestor Cult when she was younger, but was cast out after she fell in love with a guy, and became pregnant. Priestesses were supposed to remain virgins, to better channel the ghosts of the ancestors.
After she was cast out, she couldn't find a living in the city, and so she moved to the wilderness of the island to survive, and raise her daughter, and only when Sjet grew up, did she move back to the city, to give Sjet a better education. She worked as a guide, gatherer, and hunter in the wilderness and used what money she earned to see Sjet get the education that she deserved.
She accompanied Sjet to the Manse, when Sjet took to figure out how to activate it, and she stayed at the entrance to fight off anyone who tried to interrupt. She bled out from wounds sustained as she fought them off, and was offered the Dark Exaltation, which she took to help her daughter.

As for other kids, I don't think she would have any. Bearing Sjet was what caused her to be cast out from her role, and while she never regretted having her, some part of her always yearned to be a priestess once more. And now, as a Midnight, she can be once more. She would probably usurp the Ancestor Cult and become their leader, to be a voice for the dead.

Thank you. I can work with that to firm up my background and Intimacies.

 

[Sherwood]

Random Word and Red Shadow Claws

I have a first draft of a background entered for my character on the sheet. Let me know what you think of it and if there are any changes to be made.

 

[Random Word]

Random Word and Red Shadow Claws

I have a first draft of a background entered for my character on the sheet. Let me know what you think of it and if there are any changes to be made.

It was in her teenage years that Sjet stumbled onto a hidden manse located in the city. Inside she found treasure beyond her wildest dreams: a vast library of books from the First Age spanning many topics.

We'll need to sort out how she managed to get inside the manse. It's not easy to hide a manse, but it's not completely impossible if there are enough sealed First Age structures around that people don't realize one of them is a manse. I had thought maybe you Exalted solving the mystery of how to interact with the sorcerous lock to open the door, or solve some other puzzle or mystery to figure out how to get into the damn thing. If you entered it as a child, then that raises the interesting question of why no one else beat you inside in thousands of years. Perhaps someone helped you get inside as a child, but if so, that person would have to be powerful indeed, and very well informed, like a Sidereal, Lunar, or powerful ghost. It then makes us wonder what it was about that particular little girl that made them want to intervene. Or maybe others did beat you inside, but they all died or found nothing, while for some reason Sjet did better.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

I couldn't find a suitable art for my Abyssal, so am commissioning an art piece, but it might take a couple of weeks.

 

[Crocodile]

Great! Same request as others, though - don't make your First Age incarnation a saint. They did great and terrible things. It's interesting that the way things are shaping up, the island fell twice. Once to the Deliberative, and again in the Usurpation. Who controlled it between the death of Morrolan and the Usurpation is an interesting question. Perhaps Ryumi took command, or someone else entirely.

Ryumi very likely seized the island in compensation for the trouble and her own ego. She wasn't a saint in the slightest, she did some impressive acts in the West but it was just as much to feed her private empire building.

Ryumi did work for the Deliberative purposefully to be left alone and allowed to carve out her own dominion. This island would have been yet another prize to seize from someone more openly worse than her. The destruction in its seizure would have irked her, probably led to some tribute demands to rebuild. She could be equally brutal when feeling the urge to do so if it could quash issues in the future.

So if people don't object, she very likely did seize the island on behalf of the Deliberative and declared herself its ruler and governor. Another port to park her fleet at to keep it fed and maintained. Another location to recruit new sailors from sworn to her personal banner and ambitions.

As to the present incarnation, Pandemos has some of her old spark for empire building and ambition. The island is definitely a stepping stone to his own intentions for the Southwest.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

That depends on the timeline. Rainbow Cloud, my character's FIrst Age incarnation settled here about 2 centuries before the Usurpation

 

[Crocodile]

That depends on the timeline. Rainbow Cloud, my character's FIrst Age incarnation settled here about 2 centuries before the Usurpation

Perhaps it was traded to them by Ryumi for some favor, debt or item? She wouldn't have been above making deals to further her goals.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

They could have reached some 'fair use agreement'. Maybe the Shadowland is old, and so Rainbow Cloud would claim it, and a short distance from it, and then the Underworld version of the Islands.

 

[Eonivar]

I hate to do this, but I have had some difficult Real Life stuff go on last week, and despite the attempt I made to try and build and create a new Sidereal, I hit a creative wall with the stress.

So I am going step out of this RP. I think you all have put together something wonderful and dramatic and I am sorry I cannot participate. I am having difficulty building a good character that would fit well with this wonderful circle.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

I hate to do this, but I have had some difficult Real Life stuff go on last week, and despite the attempt I made to try and build and create a new Sidereal, I hit a creative wall with the stress.

So I am going step out of this RP. I think you all have put together something wonderful and dramatic and I am sorry I cannot participate. I am having difficulty building a good character that would fit well with this wonderful circle.

Hate to see you leave, but understand real life.
If the only problem had been creating a sidereal, we could have worked it out.

 

[Sherwood]

Me, too. Hopefully your Real Life issues are resolved quickly.

 

[Crocodile]

They could have reached some 'fair use agreement'. Maybe the Shadowland is old, and so Rainbow Cloud would claim it, and a short distance from it, and then the Underworld version of the Islands.

I imagine Ryumi would be very open to handing off the shadowland/underworld portion to someone else. Her only interest would be trade at that point with its underworld mirror and whoever is dealing with it.

 

[Random Word]

I hate to do this, but I have had some difficult Real Life stuff go on last week, and despite the attempt I made to try and build and create a new Sidereal, I hit a creative wall with the stress.

So I am going step out of this RP. I think you all have put together something wonderful and dramatic and I am sorry I cannot participate. I am having difficulty building a good character that would fit well with this wonderful circle.

Of course. If you change your mind in future, or if there's anything at all I can do to facilitate your participation, let me know. I tossed out the idea for three players as an example, but I didn't intend to preclude more.

 

[Sherwood]

On an unrelated note, I am considering changing my sorcerous initiation from Pact with and Ifrit Lord to Bargan with Mara, especially since her prior Exaltation was so focused on demons. Random Word Any problem with that for you?

 

[Random Word]

On an unrelated note, I am considering changing my sorcerous initiation from Pact with and Ifrit Lord to Bargan with Mara, especially since her prior Exaltation was so focused on demons. Random Word Any problem with that for you?

Bargain with Mara is... well, it's Mara. So long as the other players are comfortable, I'm perfectly fine with you collecting a harem and dragging them around every scene to get sorcerous motes by feeling nothing for them while they worship the ground you walk on .

 

[Sherwood]

I was going to go with drawing power from darkness and shadow, not the others.

 

[Sherwood]

Also, I went ahead and dropped my extra Charm to pick up a pair of Merits instead. I went with Infernal Nobility (1) and a Sorcery Capturing Cord (4).